the court in 2003 struck down part of a virginia law that banned cross burning. the justices said it was illegal only if it's done specifically to intimidate someone. katie? >> couric: all right. jan crawford in washington. jan, thanks very much. now to the war in afghanistan. general petraeus has said the u.s. cannot succeed without winning the hearts and minds of afghan civilians, but tonight will's a disturbing development and a story david martin first reported back in may, u.s. troops accused of killing civilians in cold blood. david tells us 12 soldiers are now facing military charges. >> reporter: if the charges are proven, this was the platoon from hell. five american soldiers accused of murdering afghan civilians just because they could. seven more involved in the cover-up, plus mutilating corpses, taking pot shots at afghan civilians, smoking hash, and beating up a private who blew the whistle. they may have done more harm to the american cause in afghanistan than any equivalent number of taliban could hope to cause. >> this is the kind of thing that hu